On Thursday, the Shawangunk Town Board announced that they would be reopening town hall on June 8, with limitations. As the pandemic is easing its grip on the region, Ulster County anticipated Phase 2 of Reopening to begin this week.

The town hall will be open 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. and accessible by only one entrance, by the ramp on the firehouse side. Face masks and hand sanitizer will be on hand.

Town Supervisor John Valk stated that while they are open, they are still encouraging residents to call rather than visit in person, as many things can be done by mail or email. He added that they will consider increasing the hours at town hall after they “see how it goes.”

Valk noted that it has been 10 years since they moved into the “new” town hall building and that the layout of the building is “really a plus right now.” In other town halls, employees from many different departments can be crowded into the same room, making it hard to protect against exposure. In Shawangunk, they are separated and spaced out to maintain the necessary distance with regard to the pandemic.

The town board meeting on Thursday was plagued with technical difficulties as they tried to once again incorporate Zoom, but that might no longer be a concern. The next town board meeting is to be open to the public, with seating spaced out to maintain social distancing.

Valk explained that the board is looking forward to welcoming the public back into their meetings and hopes to address issues that have been put on hold such as the adoption of the town’s comprehensive plan and zoning changes.

Valk stated those items have been left off the board’s agenda during the pandemic as they won’t entertain them while the public cannot be present or participate.

The Planning Board meeting in July is also expected to be open to the public.

Shawangunk’s highway department is back to full schedule and working on paving roads throughout the town.

The board was also able to reach a compromise with Dan Leary, attorney for NY Solar 1000, at their meeting last week.

NY Solar 1000 is a 2.5 megawatt solar project located on Route 52. The board has been discussing the decommissioning bond, which is an amount of money held by the town so that in the future, should the owner walk away, the town will be able to use that bond to dismantle the operation.

The board agreed unanimously to use the estimate of $124,770, plus 15 percent. Additionally, there will be increases of 15 percent every five years for the life of the facility. Those increases will cover the rising costs of decommissioning over time.